"And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!" Judges 6:12

Judges 6 begins with an angel talking to Gideon saying, "thou mighty man of valor!" However, in this passage Gideon isn't feeling very valiant -- he's consumed with his circumstances -- how poor his family is and how he's the least of his fathers' house. He doesn't feel he's done anything worthy of being called valiant, yet the angel still addresses him "mighty man of valor!" Gideon is not the only one who struggles with feeling unvaliant, though, is he? Even the best of us struggle with feelings of failure and defeat. But we must remember that we are part of the Lord's army -- and in the Lord's army, we do not depend upon our own strength. We depend upon the power of the Lord! We depend upon the victory that He has already won! Imagine the countless thousands of saints like Gideon who have passed away before us and now sit in heaven's glory where every tear is dried, and every wound is healed -- who have already fought the battle of life and are calling down to us from heaven saying "Fellow Saint, you can get through this thing! Fight this battle -- for we have fought these same battles in our lives and been rewarded with heaven's glory! So fight through and we'll see you soon beside us! March forward you mighty man and woman of valor!" Brothers & Sisters, the Lord stands eagerly awaits our call. He wants us to walk in His power, not our own! Let's give him our circumstances today and strive to rely on His strength to conquer them! BE VALIANT!